Manga artist Junko Sato lives and works in Sendai, Japan. Her quick, playful drawings depict events from her everyday life along with charming animals that behave like humans. We fell in love with her work, as it is such a beautiful and loving vehicle for conveying one’s feelings!

Merging the latest technologies with a traditional letterpress, we specialize in creating letterpress greeting cards with unique designs. Explore a special way to communicate with your friends, customers and loved ones.

Tegami is a Japanese greeting card brand by Konno Printing, specializing in letterpress cards based on the work of Japanese designers and artists. At Tegami—the Japanese word for “letter”–we are hoping to deliver a unique, inspiring communication experience by bringing together the finest Japanese designers and our 100 years of printing experience.

This project also offers international exposure to young, emerging Japanese artists through the greeting card medium while at the same time promoting letterpress printing, which is not yet a prominent technique in Japan.

Enjoy our greeting cards! Because we love talking to our customers and friends, feel free to contact us if there is anything we can do!

What's New

Why Tegami?

What makes us unique?

100 Years of Experience

As a printing company with more than 100 years of history, Konno Printing prides itself on its printing technique and experience. At the same time, Konno Printing embraces the latest technologies and ideas. We are one of the biggest manufacturers of Japanese New Year cards (年賀状) in the region, making the most of our know-how in producing greeting cards.

Cutting-Edge Designers

Another mission of Tegami is to collaborate with talented emerging artists and designers, giving them opportunities for international exposure. We are most grateful to those artists and designers for making tegami such a powerful tool for delivering important messages!

English Compatible

Although we are based in Japan, we collaborate with variety of partners to secure access to the international market, as well as making it sure that we can communicate without any problem in English. Feel free to inquire or of course order in English!

Letterpress

Although letterpress is not so popular in Japan yet, we have been pursuing letterpress printing for a while now. As a 100-year-old company, it means a lot to us that we are using the 100-year-old technology of the letterpress for the international market. It is a new adventure for us! Combined with the latest technologies, our cards offer new possibilities in letterpress printing while keeping the warmth and handmade feeling of this style.

Paper Mechanics

As a printing company with 100 years of experience, we pride ourselves on our printing technique. Through our “Paper Mechanics” series, tegami hopes to deliver new and inspiring communications by utilizing our technologies and experience. We offer a number of “Paper Mechanics” greeting cards, each featuring three-dimensional physical effects that enhance your message.

Tegami Channel

Enjoy some of our video clips!

Artist Interview:

Junko Sato

Find out more about Junko Sato, one of the most popular designers of Tegami. The manga-inspired illustrator describes how she started to draw and what it means to her to produces works for Tegami.

Junko Sato was not a professional artist but a bookstore clerk in Sendai. However, the manga-inspired works she ceaselessly drew with a simple pen (originally just for her friends) soon made her a famous artist through words of mouth. Her works have been featured in a variety of media, such as books, magazines, and advertisements, as well as in a solo exhibition.

Tochigi-based freelance illustrator Chigusa Aihara is well-known for her unforgettable images, characterized by soft colors, tactile textures and imaginative motifs. Always with an inspiring twist, her works show a natural aptitude for delivering messages, and they have been widely used in various media, such as magazines, advertisements, T-shirts and iPhone covers.

Based in Sendai, Japan, Konno Printing is a printing company with a hundred years of history. While retaining its traditional craftsmanship, Konno Printing has always been a cutting-edge printing company. Our greeting cards embody that philosophy. In terms of technology, we are merging the latest printing technologies with the centuries-old letterpress, and in terms of design, we are merging the traditional letter press format with contemporary Japanese designs and sensibilities.